Facebook Buys Gowalla [REPORT]

Facebookhas purchased location-based service provider Gowalla, according to a report.

CNN Money cites “a source close to Gowalla” who says Facebook has acquired the company for an undisclosed sum. The majority of Gowalla’s employees, including founder Josh Williams, are set to move from the company’s Austin, Texas, headquarters to Facebook’s in Palo Alto, Calif., to work on Facebook’s Timeline feature, according to the report.

“It’s a perfect match,” says the unnamed source quoted by CNN Money. “As far as the big picture, Gowalla’s vision is about people telling stories, and Facebook’s vision for Timeline is about stories about important moments in life.”

A rep from Gowalla declined comment on the report, citing a policy against reacting to “rumors and speculation.” Reps from Facebook could not be reached.

Meanwhile, Gowalla’s chief rival, Foursquare, released a statement about the apparent move: “Congrats to Josh and the team in Austin. Here at Foursquare, we continue to focus on building an amazing product and growing our 15,000,000-strong community.”